Sr. Marlene Bakken

Sr. Marlene Bakken N.D.

Cedar Rapids

Sister Marlene Bakken passed away peacefully on December 13, 2024.

She was born on August 6, 1946, in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, to Joseph Bakken and Pearl (Mellick) Bakken Weber. She was the eldest of four siblings.

She attended kindergarten at Hayes Elementary and then St. Ludmila Elementary School and was proud to be among the first graduating class of LaSalle High School in 1964. After high school, she entered the Notre Dame Sisters religious community and received her BA in Elementary Education and her master's degree in Computer Education.

Sr. Marlene taught for 34 years in schools across Nebraska and at her alma mater St. Ludmila Elementary. After retiring from the classroom in 2002, she worked for over 10 years as a student associate with Holy Family School System at St. Ludmila and with special-needs students at LaSalle.

During the 2008 Cedar Rapids flood, she prepared meals for victims and recovery workers at St. Ludmila Church and volunteered for several years at St. Vincent de Paul Food Bank, Gems of Hope, and SAINT Cat Rescue.

She is preceded in death by her father, Joseph Bakken, her mother, Pearl (Mellick) Bakken Weber, her stepfather, Joseph Weber, and her sister, Peggy (Weber) Markle.

Survivors include her brother Dennis Bakken (Jill), sister Sharon (Weber) Raghavachary, brother-in-law Dennis Markle, and nieces and nephews Aaron and Carrie Sesker, and Kiran and Josh Raghavachary, and her Notre Dame Sisters.

Interment will be at a later date at St. John’s Cemetery in Cedar Rapids, followed by a Celebration of Life.